Contextual Education Student-Initiated Site Placements

What is a student-initiated site placement?

A student-initiated placement is a an internship at a religious organization or non-profit that is not affiliated as a partner site with the School of Theology or any other BTI school. There are over a hundred sites in and around the Boston area that ARE affiliated as partner sites either with STH or another BTI school, so there is typically something for any student seeking a placement. This is why it is rare that student-initiated placements are approved, except in cases where the vocational fit between the student and their proposed site is very strong, stronger than any partner site might be.

Students may also pursue a student-initiated site if their place of employment is a religious organization or non-profit in which they would like to explore contextual education. In those cases of current employment, the student must articulate a placement proposal that expands upon their current work in some way so as to deepen contextual learning beyond the current scope of their job. (For example, a student employed as a youth minister at a local church would need to add other aspects of religious leadership to their responsibilities – such as preaching, pastoral care, etc. – to expand their experience of learning in that site, for it to be approved.) That proposal would be made as part of the Placement/Project Request Form.

Below is the process to propose a student-initiated site for your Contextual Education internship placement:

1. The student should first look through the STH site partners book, just to make sure other site options are not a potentially better fit than the site they are considering.
2. If they are certain their site of interest is a better fit for them than any of STH’s site partners, the student should talk to one of the STH Directors of Contextual Education to express their interest in their site and talk through how it is a good fit with their vocational or professional goals. During that meeting the Director(s) will either confirm that their proposed site is a good option for the student or will direct them toward other possibilities.
3. If approved to pursue a student-initiated site, the student would then reach out to the site itself to determine if there is a theologically-trained person on staff who could serve as the student’s supervisor. “Theologically trained” means that this person holds any degree from an ATS-accredited seminary. If there is an on-site supervisor who is theologically trained, that is great. If not, they will need two supervisors – an on-site supervisor and a theological supervisor.
   • To find an on-site supervisor, the student should determine if there is anyone on the organization’s staff who would be willing to meet with them weekly to supervise their day-to-day internship work and help them navigate the site politics and procedures. This person could serve as their on-site supervisor.
   • The student would then need to determine who they would like to be their theological supervisor, and this would need to be someone who holds an ATS-accredited seminary degree. This person does not need to be affiliated with their proposed site, but should be willing to meet with the student weekly as a theological mentor and guide throughout their contextual education placement. If the student has no such person in mind, the Contextual Education Office can also provide a theological supervisor for them.
4. Once the student has been approved by their chosen site for an internship, and has their potential supervisor(s) in place, they may submit the School of Theology’s Contextual Education Placement/Project Request Form, which will be reviewed by the Contextual Education Office for approval. If you are already employed by this site, please remember to include on your Placement/Project Request Form an articulation of how you will expand your current role at the site to deepen your contextual learning there.

If at any point a student has questions about the above process of securing a student-initiated placement site, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Contextual Education Office by email (sthope@bu.edu) or phone (617-353-3038).